Pass marks lowered but no dumbing down

The Government has denied claims it is "dumbing down" primary school standards after it was disclosed that the pass mark in this year's reading and writing tests for 11-year-olds had been dropped.

The pass mark in the English stage two test has been cut by five percentage points from 49 out of 100 last year to 44 this year.

It means that the pass mark has fallen 13 points since 1996 when it was 57.

The Department for Education and Skills said that the setting of the pass mark was a "technical" matter for the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA), which oversees the tests.

However, a spokeswoman for the DfES strongly denied that it represented a lowering of standards, The Sunday Telegraph reported.

"It is a matter for the QCA but the procedures were set down in an independent report - the Rose Report - in 1998," she said.

"Primary standards have risen since 1997 and more children now go to secondary school able to read and write properly. To question this is to cast doubt on the hard work of pupils, parents and teachers."

A QCA spokesman said that the pass mark had been adjusted to reflect the fact that this year's test was more difficult than last year's.

"The questions in the test are different each year. the structure and content of the tests also changes. Different questions can mean the tests can be harder one year than another," he said. "To make sure a level four is the same every year, the number of marks needed to achieve it varies with the difficulty of the test."

However, the Tories said it appeared that the pass mark was being altered to enable the Government to meet its national literacy target.